February 27, 2012

How To Paint Furniture: Stenciling

Today I'm showing you one of my favorite furniture makeovers and showing you how I stencil furniture.

This was an old wooden vanity table and stool that I found on Craigslist for $10. I painted it with my homemade chalk paint, changed the hardware, reupholstered it, stenciled it, and added a spray-painted mirror hung above it. This was the finished result:

Basically, I did everything you could possibly do to turn an outdated thrify find into something snazzy. And all for under $20 total.

This was the first piece of furniture I ever stenciled. I would usually just paint or refinish a piece, but with this small vanity table, I decided to try something different.

I painted the entire table (using Behr Creamy White converted into chalk paint) and then stenciled a lattice design using gold metallic paint. I forgot to snap a before picture (this was done before my blogging days), so just imagine a knotty-pine-nightmare and you'll have a good idea of what this used to look like before a coat of white paint.

And then there's the awesome rose-upholstery.

I decided to replace that with some neutral material.

Here's some details in case you'd like to try this at home.

Supplies:

1. Upholstery fabric of your choice (I used about 1/3 of a yard.)

2. trim (optional)

3. Staple gun & staples

4. scissors

5. screw driver

6. hot glue gun & hot glue sticks

7. painter's tape

8. metallic paint for stencil (or color of your choice)

9. stencil

10. paintbrush or roller

(and of course the paint to paint the whole vanity & stool if yours is also a wooden monstrosity)

PART I: UPHOLSTERY

To reupholster the stool, you first have to remove the top cushion from the base of the stool. It's usually screwed on and a simple screwdriver will do the trick.

Next, separate the cushion from the base and place the cushion on your fabric. Make sure the side of the fabric you want to show is facing the floor. Like this:

Make sure there is enough fabric on each side to wrap over the edge. Staple around all four sides, leaving just the four corners unstapled.

Once your cushion looks like the above picture, you are ready to finish the corners. To make the corners look as smooth as possible, I cut the majority of the fabric off of the corner and leave just a little strip of fabric remaining. Then, I pull the strip as far as I can towards the middle and staple it securely to the wooden bottom. It should look something like this once the corners are finished:

Now, you are ready to reattach the cushion to the base! I just poked around for the original holes and then matched them up with the holes on the base. Then simply screw the original screws back in.

Voila! Your stool is now upholstered with pretty new fabric!

Now, to make your stool look nice, I think it is best to use some trim to cover the gap between the base and cushion. I purchased 2 yards of trim from Hobby Lobby for $4 total. You simply start at one corner and hot glue it around the edges.

and then you will have something that looks like this.

PART II: STENCIL THE TABLE

I found this 'Iron Lattice' wall stencil at Hobby Lobby.

Take the stencil and tape it where you want it on the first half of the table (with your blue painter's tape).

Next, dip your roller in your paint choice and paint over the the part covered by the stencil. Go light on the paint so that it doesn't seep under the stencil. I rolled my roller over a paper towel a few times before I started.

While the paint is still wet, remove the tape and the stencil. It should look like this:

Next, match up the stencil and repeat on the opposite side. Again, remove the stencil and you will have this:

And you're done!

If you want to add a mirror, you can be cheap like me and find a thrift store mirror with a decent frame and spray paint it. This one was originally dark wood and I simply painted it gold.

I think it looks so great in the bedroom. Almost everything in this bedroom came from a thrift store and has been repurposed.

I absolutely LOVE your master BR! I've been pondering what color to paint our thrift store nightstand in our master BR. We have a thrift store dresser in white and I thought maybe it would be too much white furniture. I'm TOTALLY convinced my first desire of painting the night stand is spot on after seeing your gorgeous room! THanks :-)

Connie, Thank you so much! Yes, it's easy to overdo the white furniture, and I gave this room a lot of thought and after painting the walls a warmer color, the white really started to work well! So glad you like it! :)

That is a beautiful makeover - excellent job! So much prettier! Please come by and link this up to my party happening NOW! I would love to have you there!Stacey of Embracing Changehttp://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.com

Love your blog! Just found it thru Betterafter I think. What an elegant, yet comfortable room. I am totally inspired---I've been eyeing that same stencil at HL for awhile. I feel the same way about that store, also. They rock. You rock, too!

Thanks for sharing information. You did a great job. Both white as well as cream coloured furniture with matching room paint is fabulous. Love it ! Such a combination will give a visiting and cozy feeling to customers with this hotel furniture

I am SO EXCITED about your blog! I have been searching for a page like this FOR-EV-ER! I am employed full-time (but working for peanuts), attending graduate school full-time, and a mother to an awesome 11 year old girl. I don't have time or money for anything, but have a passion for home decor and fashion. Never in a million years did I think I would be able to make my first home (we recently purchased and moving in in 2 weeks!) as beautiful as something like yours...but you inspire me, and I know I can do it! Thank you!

OMG! your bedroom is beautiful!I have the same color palette in my bedroom but unfortunately mine is so small because we live in a condo.I would like to own a big house but in Spain is not a easy job!I love your style so much, so I´m going to follow your blog, if you want you visit my blog, currently it´s focused on DIY projects but I´m planing to include my home decor.Regards from Spain!

Absolutely gorgeous. What a perfectly serine space to dream in. I wish i didn't have a dog sometimes so i could have a gorgeous white and/or neutral space like this. My "Buddy" would have it looking "brown" in no time, lol.

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Hi! I'm Virginia! I'm a newlywed & new homeowner who loves decorating and DIY projects. Making something new out of something old is what inspires me! I'm constantly looking for affordable ways to transform our house! This is my place to share inspirations and DIY! Oh, and maybe talk a little bit about my love for very fat cats. View my story